357 henry lever for deer

Go straight to the 44mag. You'll never look back.

I’d have no qualms about going after deer with an appropriately developed .357 Mag hand load at moderate range in that Henry. I’d probably lean towards the heavier end of the spectrum (180 grain) if you’re going after corn feed Midwestern ‘prairie rats’.

It would add to the calibers versatility to have a rifle/handgun combo. My .357 Mag combo is a GP 100 or Dan Wesson paired either with a Winchester AE 94 or Ruger M77 (either in .357).

The extra barrel length will give you an additional 300 +/- FPS.

On a side note. I really enjoy shooting straight walled pistol calibers (like the .327 FM, .357 Mag, .44 Mag and .45 Colt in lever rifles. To me, they have a very high fun factor.

Countless deer have been taken with less.

I paired my 6" gp100 with a 77/357 and after some load development , it's all working well. As a hint, that revolver shoots everything well, the trick is to find an economical load that your rifle shoots well. then fine tune it for use in a handgun. If you're planning to load jacketed bullets , it will be easier. I settled on 180 grain wfn coated bullets as an ideal load the 2 guns can share, phasing out the 158 grain swc I've loaded for years. Didn't see that coming.

Get the henry, it should be a great gun

mobullets22 said:

Hey all. I found a 357 Henry x in stock local. Been curious about getting one. I already reload for my gp100 so this would make good companion. I have more traditional hunting calibers (30-30, 30-06, 45-70, etc) but curious as to effectiveness of 357 out of a rifle length on deer. Internet seems to have everything from "it approaches 30-30" to "you're crazy it's anemic." Hoping to hind some first hand experience here. I want to add 44 isn't an option due to availability and due to my main goal of gp100 companion. 357 is also wonderfully cheap to load with.

Click to expand...

Grab it!

Out to 100 yards, it's fine on whitetail, so long as you use a good handload. Remember with the proper powder you will get better muzzle velocity from the longer barrel on the rifle. In my state you'd need a 180 grain bullet and a load that launched it from the rifle at 1750 fps to be a legal cartridge on deer, as that produces a bit more than 1200ftlbs, which is the rifle cartridge threshold set by my state. BUT it makes no sense because they allow 700ftlbs from a handgun cartridge for deer... no idea why the state doesn't think that 700 ftlbs would "work" as well from a rifle. There's no way to supervise a hunter using any method employing a firearm to ensure the max effective range isn't exceeded. A bullet being a bullet, and the MV to match the handgun standard that was arbitrarily set, then would only be around 1325 fps. At those velocities 1750fps or 1325 fps, very similar to black powder hunting with an old style rifle, shot placement is going to be a key factor (OK well it always is a key factor) ..., but rifles tend to be easier for the hunter to accurately shoot at 100 yards, than handguns, no?

You already mentioned other advantages..., the ammo goes into both the GP100 that you own, and in this new rifle, and it's cheap to reload.
It's even cheaper to use reloaded .38 special for plinking, and for small game.
Recoil...what recoil ?

LD

Go for it no problem with the right bullet and out to say 100 yds your good. I bought one in 44 a few years back to go with my Super Blackhawk. I shoot the same load/bullet in both with good accuracy and that way I do not have to worry about keeping loads separated for each.

With proper bullets, it will do just fine on deer. Like with any hunting weapon, one must know it's limitations. I have a Rossi .357 lever that has taken several deer. Up close and personal(under 40 yards) with good JSPs over H110. In a lever, .357 is a hoot to shoot at the range. Mine sees more range time than any other rifle I own, and this includes others that shoot besides me also. With good handloads, it's accurate, easy on the ears, easy on the shoulder and easy on the wallet compared to even my .44 Carbines.